11 September 2001…..GOD BLESS AMERICA! WOLAA Web Site: www.wolaa.org

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CHANGE! CHANGE! CHANGE! New WOLAA Dates for Your Calendar; Mark Your Calendars NOW!!!!!!!!!

***WOLAA Annual Luncheon. We have scheduled our Annual Luncheon for Friday, 13 March 2011 at Argyle Country Club. Early Bird Flyer Is Shown in Supplement Page S1. See the flyer for details. You will receive the luncheon flyer for RSVP purposes in early April. We hope you will be able to attend!!!

***Our dedication of the Proud Memory Gar-den and Interactive Display has been moved to late September 2011 or early October 2011 on a Friday at FDA Summer LEAF will have details

*News from WOLAA.

-WOLAA Florida Reunion. Fourteen alumni and guests met on Friday, 11 March 2011 at Dade City for the annual WOLAA Florida Reunion. Ken and Jurel Caudle arranged and hosted the reunion. The fellowship and food were great, and the beautiful grounds and weather added to the afternoon. While attendence was down slightly, the group agreed to meet in 2012 on Fri-day 9 March 2012 at Dade City. During conversation, it was noted that there is a Ledo Restaurant in the area, and interest was expressed to meet at Ledos. Marty Walchak took the pictures shown in Supplement page S2.

VOLUME XIII ISSUE II PROUD MEMORIES Spring 2011

Events * *NOL Lunch 2nd Mon @Golden Bull in Adelphi *WOLAA Annual Lunch-eon @ Argyle CC Fri. 13 May 2011 @ 1130 *WOLAA Dedication of Proud Memory Garden, Fall 2011 *Holiday Luncheon Dec, 2011. Details TBD *WOLAA Night @ Strath more. Details TBD *WOLAA Florida Reunion @Dade City Fri. 9 Mach 2012 ________________________

The LEAF is published quar-terly by the WOLAA, Inc. for its members. ___________________________

Editorial Staff: JohnTino Frank Koubek _______________________ WOLAA, Inc PO Box 1002, Olney, MD. 20830 Phone (301) 439-3140 E-M: mrspat218@aol.com ________________________I This Issue: News from WOLAA p1 Ramblings p3 Book Reviews p3 Features p4 Correspondence p4 Alumni Updates p4 Deceased Alumni p5 Supplements p S1-S7

The Leaf White Oak Laboratory Alumni Associat ion, Inc.

PAGE 2 THE LEAF VOLUME X1I I ISSUE I I

*News from WOLAA (continued) -Historical Preservation. So, why the big change in the WOLAA calendar! The lesson we have learned is never assume all is OK when you don’t hear from GSA/FDA staff. Sometime, since Octo-ber, all the players we deal with changed. The old ones didn’t let us know they were leaving and the new ones didn’t introduce themselves. As a result of the changes, a contract issue arose with Quatrefoil, who is the contractor doing the plaques and display. They essentially stopped their effort until the situation was resolved—–believe it was until they got paid for the work they did. I had gotten suspicious that something was “up” when I asked Quatrefoil in early December for a copy of the graphics for plaques to display at the Holiday luncheon and they wouldn’t give them to me. It doesn’t help that their contract is with the archi-tect, Kling, and not with GSA. A huge Charlie Brown and MJT, “Good Grief!” We finally got all the players together—–by the way, GSA people at WO are now housed in the beautifully restored Bldg 130, including a HVAC that works. At this meeting, we learned the following: FDA did not approve a NOL fireplace In the lobby of the Conference Center; they knew nothing of the Nate Stinson and Dr. Bennett plaques that were to be displayed next to fireplace; the plaques for garden and display would not be done until late June 2011 (vs March as promised); location of kiosk for LEGACY interactive display would not be in lobby but in corner of hall way by Media Room; the garden pathway would not dead-end by Bldg 1 (re security it could not be connected to “NOL” front doors of Bldg 1) but would be made into a loop beginning and ending at side entrance to conference center; prototype benches promised for garden would not be placed in garden; and the benches made out of NOL limestone saved from Bldg 1 would be “rearranged.” Unhappy, hell yes! Well this is where we are. The fireplace in lobby is gone! We were told the reason is the fireplace design and stone is too traditional for modern design of the lobby—as I recall the fireplaces’ stone is mod-ern and looks very nice in the FDA Commissioner’s office foyer. They had lost both plaques! They have found the Nate Stinson plaque; but the Dr. Ralph Bennett plaque is lost and they are fabricating a new one—luckily we had the same photograph of the picture used to make the original plaque. Quatrefoil is back on track but for a late June delivery of plaques and display. Their new schedule with GSA/FDA/Kling has more phases than a complicated R&D project for a new weapon system. Consequently, their installa-tion completion date is for the end of June. Therefore, to be on a very conservative/safe-side, we have delayed the dedication of the Proud Memory Garden to late September or early October 2011! Since we would not have the dedication in May, we quickly arranged to have a WOLAA Annual Luncheon on Friday, 13 May 2011. The first due date was in mid-February, and Quatrefoil’s submission for the plaques and display graphics was essentially what we saw in October. The several errors on the plaques had not even been corrected. We reviewed the submission and the plaques graphics are now very good and accurate. We are OK with location of kiosk. It is by Media Center and will be arranged so the display can be reviewed as one looks out to the garden. Since the fireplace is not in lobby, we decided to move the two plaques above the kiosk. See picture of kiosk in Supplement page S3. A picture of the front of the NOL Bldg 1 will go between the two plaques to complete the NOL/NSWC inside display. We also like the loop for the garden’s plaques. See picture of garden in Supplement page S4. As best we can tell they have de-cided not to modify the benches outside the conference center; Dee Zook convinced them to put a plaque on a bench noting that stone is from the NOL buildings. Dee Zook has also convinced them to consider (and it looks like it will be approved) to display a large “mural” like picture of the NOL campus and a picture with same view of new FDA campus on the conference center wall leading to the garden. Michael Steven of Kling architects had suggested this several years ago but it had gotten lost in shuffle. Betsy Bretz, chairperson of LABQUEST, had been a strong supporter of WOLAA for the Historical Preservation and she is keeping “after” the senior GSA and FDA leadership. We believe we are on track and believe the final products will be great! I hope I can write in the Summer LEAF that all has been in-stalled and we have a FIRM date for the dedication. I am glad I am an optimist!

VOLUME XIII ISSUE II THE LEAF PAGE 3

*Ramblings of a Senior Mjt -Baseball. My football favorites—Steelers and Skins—didn’t quite win a Super Bowl. My col-lege basketball favorites—Terps and Pitt—let me down in March Madness. In hockey, my favorites—–Pens and Caps—are doing well. BUT, I am ready for baseball. I began by going to two Spring Training games. My joy was seeing my two favorites—Pirates and O’s—play each other. I couldn’t lose. The O’s crushed the Bucs; but it was a great game. I know, know that Pirates “suck;” but the O’s have added some hitting, the super young pitching has a year’s experience, and they have their “new“ manager to carry on with the winning from the end of the 2010 season.. They have to be better; don’t they! Hey, it “don’t get no better than to hear the crack of the bat, eating peanuts, and hearing “Take me out to the Ball Game’ be-ing sung. Play Ball. ______________________________________________________________________________________

Book Review Johnny Gram Mjt *Recently, I read a very thought provoking book that I recommend to you. The title is, The Shack (2007) by William Paul Young. The website is: www.theshackbook.com. *Barry Pifer sent three book reviews to WOLAA for the LEAF. I have read two of the three, and they are very interesting and important books for our reading. George Friedman runs his own company (Think Tank like) and in February 2011 gave a lecture at the Spy Museum on his book, re the Next Hundred Years. Barry, thank you for informing us about these books. -Atlantic by Simon Winchester (2010). The subtitle of this book is “Great Sea Battles, He-roic Discoveries. Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories”. This is a terrific story of the At-lantic Ocean from its formation nearly 200 million years ago until its demise nearly 200 million years in the future when the continents once again form a single land mass as the continental plates continue to drift. According to modeling predictions, the southern tip of South America will then connect to the Asian land-mass near Singapore and North and South America will lay against the European and African continents. A fascinating history of early explorations of the Atlantic by the Phoenicians, Vikings, and Europeans and much more including geology, biology, pollution, and the implications of global warming. A well written page turner. -War by Sebastian Junger (2010). The author embedded with a single platoon in the Ko-rengal Valley of Eastern Afghanistan off and on in the 2007-08 time frame and participated in their opera-tions. As the cover fly-leaf states: “ He describes things that few civilians will ever witness or go through: the endless, body numbing anticipation of battle; the unquestioned and automatic risk soldiers take in com-bat situations to protect their brothers; the adrenalin-fueled confusion of being ambushed”. It is as powerful a story of combat as All Quiet on the Western Front, the World War I classic. Junger’s friendship with the individuals in the platoon captures their intimate feelings and the dialog is often pretty rough soldier-speak. The book won several journalism awards and a documentary made from the same experience, Restrepo, the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. -The Next 100 Years by George Friedman (2009). The author is the CEO of STRATFOR a pri-vate intelligence and forecasting company. His book explores the world geopolitics of the Twenty First Century fueled by “the rise of American power, the end of the population explosion, and the development of technologies to deal with a declining population”. He describes the United States character as head-strong, immature, and brilliant and the world’s response as fear, envy, and resistance. A coalition of new powers, Poland, Turkey, Japan, and even Mexico late in the century, is envisioned. China fragments by 2020 and Russia declines also. Technology focuses on space including the colonization of the moon for military purposes, hypersonic weapon systems, U.S. “battlestars” that provide worldwide surveillance and command and control of weapons that can attack worldwide targets precisely in minutes, and U.S. commer-cialization of space to harvest solar energy with microwave beams to earth. He postulates and describes a

WOL History

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*Book Review Johnny Gram (continued) of space to harvest solar energy with microwave beams to earth. He postulates and describes a third world war in mid-century. A thought-provoking read! ______________________________________________________________________________________

Features *Correspondence. -1950 Structures at NOL. WOLAA received the following email from Jamie Kuhns who works for the Maryland Park and Planning: “Dear John, Good morning, hope you are well. I am writing to find out if you could provide me with assistance or push me in the right direction. In 1956, the White Oaks Naval Ordnance Lab donated 6 prefab structures to M-NCPPC, which in turn, were used to create recrea-tion buildings/community centers at various locations in Montgomery County. I am trying to uncover spe-cific details on this transaction and on the actual buildings…original use, size, etc. Do you know what be-came of archival materials related to the White Oaks Naval Ordnance Lab? I wasn’t sure if they were moved to Dahlgren, retained at the White Oaks campus now under the FDA, or relocated to an archival re-pository…National Archives, Navy Library, etc. Also, I noticed in the White Oaks images section you had some great black/white campus photos…what are the odds of having any from 1944 to 1955 that might show these temporary buildings? Finally, I have read that White Oaks was not established until 1944, which only allotted a year roughly to connect these structures to use during WWII. I read in a document that these structures were identified as Nike buildings, which implies to me a connection to missiles. Would that seem plausible for WWII or more likely Cold War weaponry? At any rate, you can reach me at Ja-mie.Kuhns@montgomeryparks.org with any questions/thoughts. Thank you for your time, I look forward to hearing from you. Have a good day. Sincerely Jamie F. Kuhns, Senior Historian, Maryland-National Capi-tal Park and Planning Commission, Montgomery County Department of Parks,Cultural Resources Steward-ship Section. 1109 Spring Street, Suite 800,Silver Spring, MD 20910.” Bob Ridgway responded with the following: “I personally do not know anything about the build-ings that were given to MNCPPC, but here are some thoughts on the matter. There was never a Nike mis-sile installation at White Oak. There was nothing in the NSWC - White Oak environmental assessment completed when we closed about such a use of the land. Also the Nike Ajax Missiles first became opera-tion at Fort Meade, Maryland during December 1953. This was some time after NOL was up and run-ning. When NOL was under construction, numerous trailers and temporary buildings line Bowditch Road. The last remaining buildings were those at the scrap yard, T-1 which was a garage use for the origi-nal fire truck and T-5 which was use as the ordnance office. “ Jamie Kuhns closed the loop on this “mystery” with the following: “That is great information. We know at least one of the six donated buildings was identified as T-4, another was a combination of T-2 and T-3. I am assuming the "T" indicates temporary, so it is possible that our recreation buildings were used when NOL was being constructed. It is interesting the uses noted for T-1 and T-5. I was looking for similar structures to ours through HABS drawings at the Library of Congress, and thought they might have been originally used for storage, possible recreational use even. I am also glad to hear about the elimination of the Nike connection, I thought that seemed out of place. I so appreciate all your help, it is really exciting to learn these details.” *Alumni Updates

-Dr. Inna Talmy. Inna retired in January 2011 from NSWC/CD after 27 years of service to our country. She worked at the WOL until it closed and moved with her team to Carderock. She developed a very creative team to do research on ceramics. The WOLAA website carries the amazing story written by Frank Koubek on how the WOL was able to hire Dr. Talmy in 1983. You can read the story by logging on to the web site at www.wolaa.org; go to oral history; click on oral history archives; and scroll down to the story. We send a WOLAA BZ to Dr. Talmy. -Judy Beiser. Judy retired in January 2011 from NSWC/IH. Judy came to work at the

VOLUME XIII ISSUE II THE LEAF PAGE 5

Retirement News

-Alumni Updates (continued) -Judy Beiser. Judy retired in January 2011 from NSWC/IH. Judy came to work at the WOL in the 1980’s and worked in the Underwater Systems Department’s Systems Analysis Branch. She moved to Indian Head with the warhead team when the WOL closed. We send a WOLAA BZ to Judy. -Dave Grenier. At the NSWC/DD 2010 Honorary Awards ceremony, Dave received the Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award. He was honored for, “his lasting contributions which have shaped the direction of the CBR Modeling and Simulation Community and accelerated the fielding of products to the Navy. Dave was a ME in U11 during the 1980’s and then became a Branch Head in G40. He moved to DL when the WOL closed and then moved to the CBR Divi-sion as a Branch Head of the CBR Modeling Branch. He has been on assignment for several years “up-town” doing the work he was honored for. We send Dave a WOLAA BZ for his achievements in this area made so critical in the War Against Terrorism. -George Hamlin. George wrote: “I thought this portion of my new brickwork might interest you. Naturally the NOL plaque is the one that ended up crooked; it's hard to make a masonry bit do exactly what you want it to. The mason that set these in was simply overwhelmed; ‘I can't BELIEVE I'm setting a piece of the Berlin Wall. When I was learning this trade I would have laughed at anyone who said I'd be doing this one day.’ The piece came from the angled foot on the DDR side of the East Side Gallery, on Mühlenstrasse. We had to trim it a little to get it to fit in the available space. I think that mounting it next to a brick from NOL makes perfect sense. I took the brick from a pile when they were working on putting a new cooling tower on Bldg 5 back in the 1980s; Houston Cole will remember, not necessarily fondly, those bricks sliding down the chute past his office window for days and weeks. Note: Picture of wall appears in Supplement on page S5 ______________________________________________________________________________________. *Deceased Alumni. Please inform Houston Cole of any information about deceased alumni. Phone (410) 489-2977. Or, please write or email WOLAA. The LEAF is pleased to print a tribute to our deceased alumni; prepare and mail/email to WOLAA. -Betsy McFerren. Elizabeth Fulton Jones, her Grand-daughter, wrote WOLAA to indicate Betsy had died in 2007 at age 94. She had been living with her Mother, Elizabeth Mc Ferren Fulton, at the time of her death. Ms Jones indicated that Ms Fulton is now in poor health. Betsy was the Secretary for Earl Langenbeck, who headed the Engineering Service Department. Ed and Betty Seymour. WOLAA was informed that Ed and Betty Seymour are deceased. Ed worked at the WOL in the Systems Evaluation Branch (U42) and the Explosive Dynamics Branch in R10. He retired in the early 70’s and moved to Florida for his retirement years. -Eugene Rosen. WOLAA was informed that Eugene died on 5 January 2010. He was liv-ing in Leisure World. He worked in the 1950’s for Bob Stotz in DP (Planning and Progress), which was on the Technical Director’s Staff. -Ruth B. Arnn. Ruth’s daughter called WOLAA and informed us that Ruth died on 17 July 2010. She was living in Riderwood. Ruth worked in Supply Department in Purchasing Division -Lee E. Probst. Jim Woodhams provided WOLAA the following obituary:LeeProbst (80 died on Christmas Day, 2010, in Tucson, Arizona. Lee served as the Head of the College Recruitment Di-vision in the Personnel Department of the Naval Ordnance Lab (NOL) in the 1960s, and was responsible for initiating NOL’s college recruitment program. Lee left NOL in September 1967 to become the new Place-ment Director at the University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville, but returned to NOL in June 1968. In March 1969, he again left NOL to go to the US Civil Service Commission, and later worked for several Depart-ment of the Navy headquarters offices before eventually finishing his 35 year Federal career with the De-partment of Justice. Lee and his wife, Bobbie (Roberta) moved from Northern Virginia to Tucson several years ago, where he continued his interests in World travel, photography, history and various other pur-

Retirement News

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years ago, where he continued his interests in World travel, photography, history and various other pur-suits. Jim provided the following additional information, “I am attaching a brief obit for Lee Probst, former NOLer who passed away on Christmas Day. Although I attended his memorial service in Fairfax, VA, last weekend, there has not been an obituary prepared that I know of except brief notes in one of the Tucson pa-pers and in the Washington Post. I dug out some information on his employment at NOL but, since he has been gone from NOL/NSWC for so long, I doubt that there are very many NOLers who would remember Lee. His wife is spending time in Fairfax and Tucson and will be moving back to Northern Virginia in the near future. -Larry W Johnson. John Kelley provided WOLAA the following: “I am saddened to re-port the sudden, untimely death of IHD employee and former White Oak Laboratory Technician Mr. Larry W. Johnson. Reportedly, Mr. Johnson had succumbed to lung cancer. Prior to the closure of WOL and his transfer to the Patterson Pilot Plant of NSWC Indian Head, Mr. Johnson was a member of the WOL Re-search Department (Energetic Materials Division, Code R10) under Dr. Julius Enig, Mr. James Proctor, and Dr. Kurt Mueller, where in WOL's "600-Area" he largely contributed to the development of advanced Navy plastic-bonded explosives (PBX's). Mr. Johnson also was a talented saxophonist who favored Gospel mu-sic, of which he recorded several albums. In addition to his recordings, his music was much in demand for Church functions and at religious gatherings. He will be missed.” -Dr. David M. French. John Kelley provided WOLAA the following: “As first learned from his son, George, we are saddened to report the untimely death of White Oak Laboratory Senior Scientist Dr. David M. French. Prior to his retirement, Dr. French was employed as a Senior Polymer Chemist in the Research Department of the White Oak Laboratory (Energetic Materials Division, Code R10; Indian Head Detachment) under Drs. Manfred Cziesla, Julius Enig and William McQuistion, Messrs. Gerald MacKenzie, James Proctor, and Dr. Kurt Mueller. Dr. French, a student of P. J. Flory, was intimately in-volved in the development of Navy strategic and tactical solid-rocket propellants and plastic-bonded explo-sives (PBX's), for which his research efforts principally focused upon the development of advanced back-bone polymers and binder-systems. His obituary, published in The Washington Post on January 7, 2011, follows. DAVID MILTON FRENCH (Age 96) David Milton French, a long-time resident of Alexandria, Virginia, died January 1, 2011 at Fairfax Inova Hospital of injuries suffered in an automobile accident. David was born in Alexandria in 1914, the only child of David French and Jean Brent. After the untimely death of his 42-year old father in 1927, David enrolled in Episcopal High School, where he graduated in 1932. He received an undergraduate degree and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia in 1936 and 1940, respectively. He was hired by the U.S. Rubber Company at Passaic, New Jersey, where he did work in support of the war effort, on the development of synthetic rubber, of which he was very proud. While in Passaic, he married Margaret Craven and had a son, David Milton French. That marriage ended in divorce. A new period of his life began when, while living in Greenwich Village in New York City, David met and, in 1955, married Mary Emlen Smith. He and Molly would enjoy more than 55 years of marriage. They had two sons, George Emlen French and Robert Brent French. After a period of employment at the Wyandotte Chemical Company near Detroit, David returned with his family to Alexandria in 1959. He worked at the Naval Surface Weapons Center in Indian Head, Maryland for the rest of his career. David published many papers on polymer chemistry in professional research journals and patented a number of processes for the development and treatment of synthetic materials. David became a Branch Head at Indian Head and mentor to a number of young scientists. He was an emeritus member of American Chemical Soci-ety and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an active member of the Alpha Chi Sigma fraternity of chemists. His return to his Alexandria roots kindled David's passion for genealogy. His manuscripts included the copiously researched histories "The Brent and Carroll Families of Colonial Mary-land," "The Descendants of John and Martha French of Virginia and Related Families," and "The Other Smiths of Burlington." Some of these writings can be found in the Virginia Room of the Alexandria Li-brary. David's survivors include his wife Molly, their sons George and Robert, their grandsons Johnston,

VOLUME XIII ISSUE II THE LEAF PAGE 7

Hugh and Duncan, and their daughter-in-law Sarah; his former wife Margaret, their son David, their daugh-ter-in-law Alice, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. David's family remembers with love a man who was quiet and unassuming, ever curious about the world, good natured and a bastion of affection and support. They will miss him deeply.” John Kelley noted, “Dr. French, a mentor and friend to many of us, is sorely missed.” -Michael E. DeGrabe. Mike, 86, a Navy Department employee who retired in 1986 from what was then the Naval Surface Weapons Center and helped conduct research on battery technology, died 8 January 2011 of kidney failure at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. Mr. DeGraba spent 35 years with the White Oak Laboratory, initially as a sheet metal worker. Michael, a Kensington resident, was born in Pittston, Pa. During World War II, he served in the Army in Europe and participated in the Normandy inva-sion. After his retirement, he worked as a starter and pro-shop employee at Sligo Creek Golf Course in Sil-ver Spring and the Naval Surface Weapons Center golf course. He was a member of St. Catherine Laboure Catholic Church in Wheaton, where he was a member of the Holy Name Society. Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Lucille Ardoline DeGraba of Kensington; four children, Michael J. DeGraba and Lucille DeGraba-Brown, both of Germantown, Patrick J. DeGraba of Rockville and Thomas J. DeGraba of Poto-mac; two sisters; and seven grandchildren.

-Dorothy McKinley Horner. Dorothy died at age 95 on Thursday, January 20, 2011 at her home in Silver Spring, in the care of her family. She was born on November 1, 1915, in Wash-ington, DC. A fourth generation Washingtonian, she was the child of the late Margaret McClellan and Lowell McKinley of Georgetown. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in the District of Columbia where she was a member of Lambda Chi Sorority, and after further business studies, she managed the Western Union offices in Georgetown and at Union Station. Subsequently, she was a personnel specialist at the Federal Housing Administration and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory from which she retired. Beloved wife for 52 years of the late Andrew Annan Horner, who died in 1990; loving mother of Marcia Nilson and John Horner. -Dr. Samuel J. Raff. Sam died on 27 January 2011. He was husband of Barbara Raff, the late Lillian Raff, and former husband of Anna Pryce. Sam is survived by his children, Melvin, Brian, Nina Winters-Raff, Terri Hurley, Sara Manson and Franklin; eight grandchildren, and one great-grand-daughter. He graduated in 1943 from CCNY with a BSME. He went to work for GE in Schenectady, NY; but within a year the Navy worked with GE to send a group of the GE engineers to the Navy Yard in DC to work on the war effort. He remained at NOL for the next 17 years, earning his masters and PhD in physics through the NOL graduate student program. Sam had leadership roles as section chief, branch chief, and head of the Physics Research Department. After leaving NOL, Sam spent a year as the TC of the Navy’s Missile Of-fice in BUWEP; and then two years as Head of the Systems Analysis Group which was located at NOL and was staff to the Undersea Warfare R&D Planning Council. This Council consisted of all the CO’s and TD’s of the main government and university laboratories involved in undersea warfare. In 1964, Raff As-sociates was formed as a study and analysis group. It grew to 17 employees and was bought by GRC Inter-national. In 1974, he became PM for the National Science Foundation, retiring in 1978. Dr. Raff partici-pated in the Bikini Atomic Bomb tests and many of the WOL projects described in the WOL Legacy book. He began the Journal of Computers and Operations Research, which he edited for many years and taught EE at GWU. Sam was one of the five authors of the WOL Legacy book. He spent many hours and many meet-ings defining, writing, and editing the book. It was a labor of love for Sam and all the authors. Dr Raff noted he raised six children, none of whom showed the slightest interest in the physical sci-ences that was his career. -Viola Buhrow Haymes. Viola died at age 95 on 2 February 2011. She lived at Leisure

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World in Silver Spring and worked at the WOL. She was wife of the late Jack Haymes and James Stargel. She is survived by son Jay Stargel and Sherry-Lynne Stargel and grandson Scott Stargel. Jean Sellers noted Viola started working at the WOL in the 1980’s at an age when most of us were planning retirement or were retired. She worked in M22 in Bldg 3 on the third floor. M22 was the Systems Programming Branch in the Data Processing Division. -Dr. Fred Fisch. WOLAA was informed that Dr. Fred Fisch from NSWC Carderock was killed in a 1-car accident last Wednesday, while on his way to Carderock from his home in Timonium. Ap-parently, he suffered some sort of medical emergency and lost control of the vehicle, which flipped and crashed. He was in the ICU for a day or so before he died. Fred was a ship vulnerability guy that many of us worked with, on programs such as the SSVP. Fred had retired from Carderock, and had returned part time as a contractor. Note: Fred never worked at WOL but worked with staff from the WOL, especially E21, Environmental Branch. -Maurice Murphy. Jean Goertner notified WOLAA that she received the following: “Hello Ms. Goertner, I am Maurice Murphy's son John. My Dad passed away on 9 February 2011 at age 91.” Maurice worked at WOL as a chemist in the Chemical Engineering Division. He had been a long-time resident of Beltsville and most recently lived in Burtonsville. “Mr. Murphy started with the Naval Ordnance Laboratory at White Oak in the early 1940s and later did pyrotechnics work with the Naval Sea Systems Command in Arlington County. He returned to WhiteOak for the last 13 years of his career, retiring around 1994. Maurice was born in Milwaukee and received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Marquette University in his home town. Maurice was a member of the Catholic Church of the Resurrection in Burtonsville. Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Marthe Chausse Murphy of Burtonsville; two children, John Murphy and Anne Ricciardi, both of Burtonsville; and two grandchildren.” -William Barnum. Bill passed away on 4 March 2011. He had a stroke and was discovered in his apartment when his co-workers at ATR checked on him when he didn’t report for work. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital for treatment, and then to their hospice where he died. Bill has a brother who lives in Montana. Bill worked at the WOL as a ME in the Mechanical Systems Branch in U Department. He moved to E Department in the mid-70’s to Head the WOL Shops. Upon retirement, he worked for ATR. Bill is also survived by his dear friend Betty Covell. His ATR and WOL friends held a “wake” for Bill to share their good memories of him. (Betty had suffered a stroke and had fallen recently. She is living in a nursing home at this time. Bill was caring for her pet dog and her home as well as visiting Betty daily. Betty has no surviving family.) Special Tributes -George W. Allison III. The recent NSWC/CD magazine published a very nice tribute to George Allison, who died in October 2010. It is provided in the Supplement on page S6. -Maurice Murphy. Frank Koubek prepared a tribute to Maurice. It is provided on page S7. Frank wrote WOLAA: “Attached is an obituary I have prepared for Maurice F. Murphy based on informa-tion from his family, several WOL associates and my own recollection. Maurice was at NOL for some 14 years before moving to NAVSEA. On retirement, he returned to WOL as a re-employed consultant to R33. I knew Maurice (‘Murph’) personally from 1956 until this past Christmas (our last communication). As I mentioned in my article, he was a warm and kind ‘prince of a man.’”

LUNCHEON ALERT!!! Mark Your Calendars NOW! Friday, 13 May 2011. 1130-1500

WOLAA ANNUAL REUNION LUNCHEON Argyle Country Club

14600 Argyle Club Road, SS. MD. Located in Layhill/Bel Pre Area

FREE PARKING! ACC Phone #301 598-5500 ******PLEASE Reply by Monday, 9 May******* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MENU: LUNCHEON EVENTS

CHOICE OF 2 ENTREES: -1130-1200 Social (Cash Bar) *Pan Seared Trout WOLAA Store Open

*Grilled London Broil -1200-1330 Lunch With -1330-1400 Annual Meeting *Argyle House Salad w -1400-1500 Visit Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing WOLAA Store: *Key Lime Pie for Dessert *WOLAA T-Shirts $5

COST: $28.00/ person *NOL Pens $2 Reserve a Table for a Group or *NOL Jar Opener $1 Branch Reunion. Call Your Friends POC: Dee Zook (301) 422-2818 Now; Then Call Dee ! Email: biscuit274@hotmail.com

 

 

 

George W. Allison III By his West Bethesda colleagues in Code 75

George William Allison III, 57, passed away on Oct. 17, 2010. George was a senior member of Carderock’s Underwater Electromagnetic Signatures and Technology Division, responsible for signature measurements of all classes of surface ships and submarines. After graduating from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., he started his Navy career at the Naval Surface Weapons Center (NSWC), then the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, White Oak, Md., in the Underwater Weapons Department in 1974. He evaluated Destructor sea mines (Mk 36/40) for use in Vietnam and all subsequent QUICKSTRIKE sea bottom mines. His first task was evaluating geophones used in the Mk 95 battery, a component in the Mk 42 mine firing mechanism used in the Vietnam War. He was part of a Lead Assessment Engineering team evaluating every target detection device (TDD) used in the QUICKSTRIKE mine versions. He was responsible for conducting operational air drops, environmental testing, and diagnosing component failures until 1995. George and his colleagues also designed a “Computer Aided Test and Evaluation System (CATES).” CATES was a programmable TDD test set capable of exercising TDDs with both ship and countermeasure signatures for software optimization to enhance sea mine mission performance. He conducted operational weapons deployments which required technical coordination skills and significant travel. After the BRAC decision to close NSWC White Oak and move the mine development work to Panama City, Fla., Allison transferred into Carderock’s Electromagnetic Fields Branch in 1995 while it was still at White Oak. Based on his background, George was assigned as the test director for the Closed Loop Degaussing (CLDG) program for minesweepers. He took the project through Developmental as well as Operational Test and Evaluation and the project was approved for limited production. Because of the reduced funding for an MCM-class CLDG system, he oversaw the installation on two MCMs, USS Warrior (MCM 10) and USS Guardian (MCM 5). Once installed, Allison worked with all phases of onboard support for CLDG, and he became the primary technical person on the CLDG installation support and maintenance. He worked on the CLDG support until 2009. Around 2003, he was assigned as surface ship test director and designated as the in-service engineering agent (ISEA) for Magnetic Silencing Facilities (MSF). As MSF ISEA, he worked at NAVSEA for three days per week from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, he was assigned to the Code 752 Test and Evaluation Team where he worked on various measurement trials. In addition to his T&E duties, he was gearing up for potential MCM degaussing system upgrades. Allison was a significant asset to our organization and was always willing to support the fleet at a moment’s notice. Because of this dedication, he would support the Navy over his own personal needs. He confided that, due to the nature of his work, he missed more of his wedding anniversaries than he made. He is survived by his wife Susan of 36 years. George was a 33rd degree Mason, and served the community in many of the Mason’s activities. He also enjoyed being a charter boat captain, and his practical knowledge was very helpful in many of his Navy activities. He was always willing to do what was needed to get the job done and will be deeply missed by his colleagues.

Tribute to Maurice F. Murphy----1919-2011

By Frank Koubek.

Maurice F. Murphy, a former employee of NOL and later NSWC died on 9 February eo11 at the Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD, after a short illness. He was 91 years of age. Maurice, better known as “Murph” to his friends at WOL was a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a graduate of Marquette University. In 1950, he became a resident of the Washington, D.C. area when he joined the Atlantic Research Corporation as a chemist doing high energy propellants R&D. In 1954, Murph moved to NOL, doing R&D on pyrotechnic fuzes and propellants in what was the Chemistry and Explosives Department. In 1968, Murph moved to the Naval Sea Systems Command where he headed up R&D in pyrotechnics and advanced thermal systems for torpedo propulsion. He retired in the early 1980’s, and then returned to WOL joining the Electrochemistry Branch (R33) in the Materials Division (R30) as a re-employed annuitant/consultant. He retired for good in the early 1990’s shortly before the closing of the White Oak Laboratory.

Muph held several patents on pyrotechnic fuzes and high energy propellants. He was a member of the American Chemical society, the American Electrochemical Society, and the Canadian Club of Washington (His wife, Marthe, is a native of Montreal, Canada.). Maurice is survived by his wife, Marthe Chausse’ Murphy; son John C. Murphy, daughter, Anne M. Ricciardi, son-in-law Nicholas Ricciardi; and grandchildren, Michael and Christine Ricciardi. All reside in Beltsville, MD. He is also survived by his brothers-in-law, Fr. Jean Chausse’, C.S.V. and Pierrre Chausse’ of Montreal, Canada.

Frank Koubek says, “I made Murph’s acquaintance when I joined NOL in 1956, and this turned out to be a life-long friendship with Murph until his death. He was a warm, thoughtful man who echoed with Will Roger’s famous statement that ‘He never met a man he did not like!!’ Murph’s daughter said that her Dad’s friendships meant the world to him and that he spent all his time reading and collecting articles and sending this information on to his friends!! We shall all miss him very much. He was indeed a Prince of a Man!!